{"id":458107,"date":"2026-06-26T08:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/06\/26\/gli-scienziati-insistono-londata-di-calore-in-europa-e-causata-dal-cambiamento-climatico\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T11:41:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:41:19","slug":"scientists-insist-europes-heatwave-is-caused-by-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/06\/26\/scientists-insist-europes-heatwave-is-caused-by-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists insist: Europe’s heatwave is caused by climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 There is a causal link between human-induced climate change and the heatwave currently affecting Europe. This is the conclusion of a new analysis carried out by scientists at <\/span>World Weather Attribution<\/a><\/span>, which found that the El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) played no role in causing the heatwave<\/strong>. According to the report, Europe is warming faster than the global average. \u201cThe science on how climate change is exacerbating heatwaves is now well established,\u201d said Theodore Keeping<\/strong>, a researcher on extreme weather events and wildfires at Imperial College London. \u201cContinued fossil fuel emissions are directly responsible for the hardships people are experiencing<\/strong>.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Just a few weeks after a severe heatwave that broke all historical records for May, Europe is facing a second one<\/a>, which is now breaking June\u2019s and annual records. This, the analysis explains, \u201cis particularly significant given that June is not historically the hottest month in Western Europe.\u201d In France, Germany, Italy, Spain ,and southern England, temperatures are reaching levels 5\u201312\u00b0C above seasonal averages<\/strong>, fuelled by a persistent high-pressure system.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Researchers from Sweden, Denmark, the United States, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom have collaborated to assess the extent to which human-induced climate change has altered the likelihood and intensity of extreme heat in Western Europe. In the area studied, the 2026 heatwave is the most intense ever recorded. To understand just how extraordinary this is, the research explains, \u201cin 1976, when some of the previous European records were set, the 2026 temperatures would have been virtually impossible to occur in June, while also highly unlikely at any time of the year.\u201d And again in 2003, when Europe was hit by the first major heatwave of the century, \u201cdaytime heat like this would still have been very rare, about 10 times less likely than today, while nighttime temperatures such as this June would have been more than a hundred times less likely in 2003.\u201d Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, also attributed the extreme heat to \u201cclimate change,\u201d which is \u201cout of control\u201d due to \u201cglobal dependence on the burning of coal, oil, and gas.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Perhaps the most alarming figure concerns the rate at which June is warming<\/strong>. Maximum daytime temperatures are rising at about three times the rate of global warming, while night-time temperatures are rising at twice that rate. The result is that a similar heatwave in June 1976 would have been around 3.5\u00b0C cooler by day and 2.4\u00b0C cooler by night. In 2003, the difference would have been 2\u00b0C and 1.3\u00b0C, respectively. Many European capitals are currently experiencing not only the hottest three-day spell in their recent history in June, but the hottest on record since 1950<\/strong>. Furthermore, \u201cthe speed of change\u201d is striking because \u201cevery few years we see heat records in Europe being shattered,\u201d Keeping pointed out. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The report also highlights the so-called ‘tropical nights’ phenomenon, i.e., nights when the temperature does not fall below 20\u00b0C. This is a significant health concern, as the nighttime cooling normally allows the body to recover from daytime heat stress, and its absence significantly increases health risks. In France, some areas have recorded temperatures above 20\u00b0C for over a week running, with night-time peaks close to 30\u00b0C. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What makes the situation even more worrying is that the weather conditions that triggered this heatwave are not unusual but are part of a pattern already seen in the past. <\/span>The difference is that today, against a warmer climate baseline, the same type of circulation produces much more extreme temperatures.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Added to this is the humidity factor. Scientists have also measured the WBGT, an index that combines heat, humidity and solar radiation to assess the actual thermal stress on the human body. Since 18 June, 45 per cent of European cities have exceeded the risk thresholds for indoor environments<\/strong>. Staying at home is therefore not enough to stay safe.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

As always, the danger is greatest in cities, where the “urban heat island” effect \u2013 caused by tarmac, concrete, and a lack of green spaces \u2013 is compounded by old, uninsulated buildings, and socio-economic hardship. Homes, schools, transport systems, and energy networks were built for a climate that no longer exists.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Heatwaves \u201cpose a serious threat to human health, have profound repercussions on ecosystems,\u201d and cause \u201cmore deaths in Europe than all other natural hazards combined.\u201d According to the scientists, during the summer of 2022, \u201cmore than 60,000 people across Europe died as a result of extreme heat.\u201d Even in the following summer, which was significantly cooler, over 47,000 heat-related deaths were recorded. According to the report, during the summer of 2025, 23,500 people in 854 major European cities died as a result of extreme heat<\/strong>, and \u201cmore than two-thirds of these deaths (around 16,000) were directly attributable to the impact of climate change on local temperatures.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This time round, the impact is already evident. Not only on mortality, but also on ecosystems, infrastructure services, and daily life. The high temperatures \u201care pushing cooling demand to its highest level in at least 45 years while significantly increasing wildfire risk, particularly in Spain and France.\u201d France is among the hardest-hit countries, with at least 40 confirmed deaths so far, school closures, the cancellation of outdoor events, and severe disruption to rail services. Italy has also recorded heat-related deaths, an increase in A&E admissions and power cuts linked to the growing use of air conditioning, while healthcare and transport systems in Belgium and the Netherlands have had to cope with mounting pressure and service disruptions. In Belgium, wildlife rescue centres have also reported a sharp rise in the number of animals in distress due to the heat. Meanwhile, Spain is facing worsening drought and water stress, with reservoir levels under increasing pressure. The heatwave is also putting European energy systems under strain,<\/strong> with concerns over reduced output from French nuclear power stations cooled by the Rh\u00f4ne and Garonne rivers. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is according to a World Weather Attribution (WWA) study. Fossil fuels are the main culprits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7911,"featured_media":458054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25712,30961],"tags":[26164,26810,30153,34253,33085,33394],"class_list":["post-458107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-salute-en","tag-change-climate-en","tag-news-europe-and","tag-warming-global-en","tag-ondata-di-calore","tag-temperature","tag-ue"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7911"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458108,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458107\/revisions\/458108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}